How to Activate Gmail Dark Mode

Gmail’s dark mode is quite new, but it can actually make a huge difference to your everyday use of this app whether on your computer or laptop. Aside from making your screen look cool, it can also help reduce the glare from your phone when you are checking your email as well as your messages at night which is great. Another plus to using Gmail’s dark mode is that it may even help extend your battery life too. Isn’t that great?

Even though it has been months since the Android 10 and iOS 13 was released which included the system-wide dark mode, Gmail was the latest major app to get a new color scheme to match these operating systems’ dark mode.

Now that we have seen Gmail in dark mode, it is definitely worth waiting for its release because it is easy to activate and pretty straightforward too compared to going on dark mode for Facebook and WhatsApp. So, how to activate Gmail dark mode? Let’s find out.

How to Set Gmail Dark Mode on Desktop

If you frequently use your desktop or laptop to check emails and the like, you’re probably wondering how to activate Gmail dark mode on your device. The steps are easy enough to follow. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

· Go to Gmail.com then choose the ‘Settings’ icon. This is located at the top right portion of the screen and under your profile picture.

· Choose ‘Themes’ then scroll past the different themes featured until you find the black thumbnail. The label ‘Dark’ should appear over it when your mouse is hovering above the image.

· Select the image and you’re done.

How to Activate Gmail Dark Mode Android

For this to work, you will need to have the latest version of the Gmail app on your phone. If you are not sure if it is updated, go to the Google Play Store and search for the Gmail app. See if there is an update button on the screen. If there is none, then you are ready to activate the dark mode.

For those who have Android 10’s system-wide dark theme activated, the Gmail app should automatically go into dark mode once you open it. If not, you can still activate the dark mode manually. Here’s how to do it.

· Tap the menu icon on the top left of the screen.

· Scroll down the menu until you find ‘Settings’ then tap it.

· Go to ‘General Settings’ then tap it.

· You can now change your Gmail’s theme to light, dark, or even system default whichever you prefer.

However, you need to keep in mind that the dark mode won’t be available on android phones that have Android Pie or older OS. Still, it is possible to use Gmail while it is in dark mode when you visit the site itself with dark mode activated. This option is usually available with Firefox Preview and Chrome for Android devices.

How to Enable Gmail Dark Mode iOS

The dark mode for Gmail took longer to arrive in iOS, with the possibility of waiting for this option to be enabled server-side by Apple. Don’t worry iPhone users, the update will come but the pace is not as fast as we want it to be.

Once the update arrives, the new option will be enabled automatically if your phone is set to system-wide dark mode. On the other hand, you can activate dark mode manually. Here’s what you will need to do:

· Tap Gmail’s hamburger menu.

· Select ‘Settings’, then tap on ‘Theme’.

· Choose ‘Dark’ then refresh your Gmail to see if it is in dark mode.

If it hasn’t switched to dark mode, then you will need to wait a bit further for the updated iOS to be released.

Why Does Dark Mode Matter?

You’re probably wondering why many people are switching to dark mode when it comes to their phones and laptops even. Google has stated that there are two huge benefits from switching to dark mode. The first one is that you will be using less battery life and the second is that going on dark mode will not strain your eyes that much thanks to the dark environment on your screen.

Google has been flirting with its official dark theme for a few years now, and even released a half-baked one for their Android Pie 9.0. However, now that Android 10 is finally released, the company has also provided the developers with the tools that will help their app support their dark theme.

How to Enable Android 10’s System-Wide Dark Theme

If you have the Android 10 dark theme or dark mode as it is commonly referred to, you can enable it by opening the ‘Settings’ app. Choose ‘Display’ then turn on the Dark Theme option. Another way to enable this feature is to swipe down from the top of your screen then look for the night theme/mode toggle which is located in the quick settings panel.

It’s important to take note that enabling the dark theme for Android 10 will vary depending on what phone you are using. If the steps mentioned above didn’t work on your phone, you can use the search function in your phone’s ‘Settings’ app.

Once the dark theme has been turned on, any apps that have been updated to support the dark mode of Android 10 will automatically be reverted to dark mode.

Apps with Dark Mode That You Should Use

Although the release of dark mode for Android 10 took a while, once your app has updated, dark mode will be enabled immediately once you activate the dark theme in your Android 10.

The Android Message app does come with a lot of features, and one of them is switching to the dark theme once Android 10 is updated. There is an option to go to dark mode manually if you don’t have Android 10 yet. Other apps that support dark mode are Slack, Tumblr, and YouTube just to name a few.